EarthCARE

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EarthCARE
ESA / JAXA / NICT
COSPAR ID2024-101A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.59908
WebsiteEarthCare on esa.int
Mission duration3 years (planned)
26 days
(in progress)
Spacecraft properties
EADS Astrium
Launch mass2350 kg[1]
Dry mass2037 kg[1]
Dimensions2.5 x 19 m
Power1700 W
Start of mission
Launch date28 May 2024 22:20 UTC
SLC-4E
ContractorSpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference system
Sun-synchronous
Altitude393 km
Inclination97,1°
Period92,5 minutes
Repeat interval25 days
EpochPlanned
Transponders
Band
S Band (TT&C support)
X band
(science data acquisition)
Bandwidth2 Mbit/s download (S Band)
150 Mbit/s download (X Band)
64 kbit/s upload (S Band)
Instruments
ATLID: ATmospheric LIDar
CPR: Cloud Profiling Radar
MSI: Multi-Spectral Imager
BBR: Broad-Band Radiometer
BIOMASS
 →
 

EarthCARE (derived from Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer), nicknamed Hakuryū (Japanese for "white dragon"),

infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and atmosphere.[6][7][8]

History

In May 2008,

EADS subsidiary Astrium. As the prime contractor, Astrium is responsible for the satellite's design, development and integration.[9] Design and construction began in early 2009.[10]

EarthCARE is an acronym standing for Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, and the aims of the mission are to improve understanding of the

SSTL and another in Bristol, Somerset by SEA Group Ltd, now part of Thales Alenia Space UK.[10] In September 2014, ESA and JAXA held a joined EarthCARE International Science Workshop.[12] From 2014 to 2015, an ongoing integration of the instruments took place.[12] In 2015, the launch was postponed to 2018 due to problems with lidar development.[13]
EarthCARE launched on May 28, 2024 at 22:20 UTC.

Mission

The mission is to provide a picture of the 3-dimensional spatial and the temporal structure of the radiative flux field at the top of the atmosphere, within the atmosphere and at the Earth's surface. The high-performance lidar and radar technology, plus the synergistic use of the different remote sensing techniques embarked on board EarthCARE, will deliver unprecedented datasets allowing scientists to study the relationship of clouds, aerosols, and radiation at accuracy levels that will significantly improve our understanding of these highly-variable parameters. The mission will provide this information to improve predictions about the weather and future climate.[14]

Science

The satellite will make measurements useful for a better understanding of the

atmospheric aerosols along with top-of-atmosphere (TOA) long- and short-wave fluxes
.

The spacecraft will feature four distinct instruments:[1]

  • ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID) - ESA / Airbus space Toulouse - 354.8 nm, high-spectral resolution and depolarisation (aerosols).
  • Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) - JAXA / NICT - 36 dBZ sensitivity, 500 m horizontal and 100 m vertical sampling resolution, Doppler capability (clouds). Operating at 94.05 GHz.[15]
  • Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) - ESA - 7 channels, 150 km swath, 500 m pixel resolution (clouds and aerosols).
  • Broad-Band Radiometer (BBR) - ESA - 2 channels, 3 views (nadir, fore and aft) (radiations).

See also

References

  1. ^
    ESA
    . Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  2. ^ https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/EarthCARE_launched_to_study_role_of_clouds_and_aerosols_in_Earth_s_climate
  3. ^ Foust, Jeff (29 June 2023). "Vega C suffers setback in return to flight effort". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  4. ^ "The White Dragon". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  5. ^ "EarthCARE out of the box". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. ESA
    . Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  7. S2CID 122041433
    .
  8. ESA
    . Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  9. ESA
    . 27 May 2008.
  10. ^ a b c Amos, Jonathan (18 February 2011). "Europe's Earthcare space laser mission gets go ahead". BBC News. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  11. ESA
    . 19 February 2013.
  12. ^
    ISSN 0376-4265
    . Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  13. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (22 May 2015). "Cost, Schedule Woes on 2 Lidar Missions Push ESA To Change Contract Procedures". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Arianespace and ESA announce EarthCare launch contract". Arianespace (Press release). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  15. ^ "WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument CPR (Earth-CARE)". space.oscar.wmo.int. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=EarthCARE&oldid=1229367041"